Mr. Kelly, 54, has pleaded not responsible to all 9 counts in opposition to him, which additionally embrace violations of an anti-sex trafficking legislation often called the Mann Act. If convicted, he may spend life in jail.
Through the first portion of her testimony, Zel took jurors by her time with the singer. He sought to regulate the trivialities of her life, she stated, and contaminated her with herpes. (She is going to proceed her testimony, together with beneath cross-examination by Mr. Kelly’s attorneys, on Tuesday.)
Zel first obtained Mr. Kelly’s telephone quantity at a music competition in April 2015, she stated, and was advised she may audition for him. Each Zel and her household have been hopeful that the skilled connection may very well be a possibility to start out her profession as a singer, she stated. On the time, she was doing paid gigs, performing in class choirs and taking performing arts courses.
However from the start, Mr. Kelly was extra eager about intercourse than music, stated Zel, who initially advised Mr. Kelly that she was 18. The 2 had sexual activity shortly after assembly, she stated, and he or she ultimately started to view herself as a girlfriend of the singer.
As soon as the summer season of 2015 arrived, Zel, who was in highschool, stated she started to separate time between the singer’s hometown, Chicago, and his residences in Atlanta. As her senior 12 months neared, she stated she advised him that she wanted to return to highschool — and revealed that she was 17.
However, she stated, the singer “laughed in my face,” slapped her with an open hand and walked away. Later, she stated, Mr. Kelly advised her that she would obtain home-schooling to proceed dwelling with him in Chicago.
All through her time with Mr. Kelly, Zel stated, she was required to abide by a strict algorithm, which when damaged led to bodily punishment and different harsh penalties. The language she used when recalling them mirrored the descriptions of the restrictions that Ms. Tempo, the singer’s first accuser to take the stand, gave in her testimony final week.